they never tell you when you hold

your own soft babe

that the pain that might pierce their heart

can shatter yours as well

 

that love and sorrow are so intermingled woven

that you often cannot feel the one without the other

always cradled close you carry them in a satchel

next to your very soul

 

Heather Pound 2024

Photo by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash